


more than words

by quietgal



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Childhood Friends, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Verse, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-06
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-19 23:09:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8227951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quietgal/pseuds/quietgal
Summary: Alfred knew that the blue fuzzy blanket he had found would be perfect for Arthur’s nest -- he just didn’t know why he had actually bought it. He was about to put their 13 years of friendship down the drain.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this was a prompt requested by an anon, which quickly became my most popular fic so far! shoutout to the anon who originally requested it, lolol. anyway, it's so loved that i keep getting requests to continue it. right now, the second chapter is written, and the third will be written soon. 
> 
> if you like this fic, be sure to see it as soon as it comes out on my TUMBLR, quietgalwrites ! i post fics every day there, all usuk, so if you are a fan of my work, be sure to check it out as there are many more works there (not on ao3) and consider following. thanks guys! :)

_This is stupid_.

Alfred clutched the bag tightly in his palm, the twine starting to chafe his fingers.

_This is so dumb._

He fidgeted. He paced. He bit his lip. He worried that someone might see him out the window. 

Finally, he raised his fist and knocked on the door. 

_Fuck._

As soon as he had done it, Alfred regretted it. He felt like running, sprinting back across the street and hiding under his covers. Just a game of ding-dong-ditch. 

The door was opening.

“Mrs. Kirkland!” Alfred attempted to be cheery and normal, but his face was lit with a bright red blush. 

“Alfred,” she greeted. “Are you here for Arthur?”

“Um, yeah, uh... is he okay?” Alfred instinctively stepped away from the door, feeling his heartbeat start to pick up.

Mrs. Kirkland smiled at him, opening the door further. “Yes, he’s fine, for now. Come in.”

Alfred nodded, swallowing. He stepped in and kicked off his shoes. He watched Arthur’s mother climb the stairs, as if hoping that Arthur might already be coming down. After a moment, he ushered himself into the familiar living room. Though he’d spent much of his childhood there, he felt awkward seating himself on the worn couch alone.

Alfred sighed and rested the bag on his lap. He peered inside, biting his lip. He felt like throwing up at the sight of the blue, fuzzy blanket inside. He had no idea what possessed him to buy it. 

He had been shopping at a department store with his family when he saw it. He and his brother laughed at first, running their hands along the soft furs and lying down on the huge piles of soft blankets. When Matthew moved on, Alfred felt himself standing still, staring at the blanket. 

He knew Arthur’s family was low on funds; it wasn’t easy living with five children. He had been in Arthur’s nest just the day before, as they were having a sleepover and didn’t have enough blankets. There had only been one extra blanket in Arthur’s nest. It was old and torn. It was okay when Arthur used it for their sleepover, but he couldn’t imagine Arthur using it during his heat. 

Alfred knew that the blue fuzzy one he had found would be perfect for Arthur’s nest -- he just didn’t know why he had actually _bought_  it. He was about to put their 13 years of friendship down the drain. 

“Al?” A tired voice murmured from behind. Alfred quickly turned, his heart stopping at the sight of Arthur sleepily rubbing his eyes. 

“O-Oh, shit, were you asleep? I’m sorry, I should’ve texted you first--”

“No, it’s alright,” Arthur sighed, sitting down next to him. He looked at the bag curiously. “What’s that?”

Alfred pressed his lips together. So they were getting right to it, then. 

“It’s... I got it for you.” He picked up the bag and held it out for Arthur to take.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. “Really?” He gingerly took the handles from Alfred’s fingers. “What is it?”

“J-Just look inside!” Alfred huffed, blushing again. 

Arthur did. He simply stared for a few seconds before reaching inside. He let his hands drag across the soft fur, then grabbed it and started to pull it out of the bag. “What is it? A blanket?”

Alfred groaned. He couldn’t believe Arthur was going to make him _explain_. “Yeah. It’s for your, um, for your nest.”

Arthur looked at the blanket, furrowing his thick brows a little. He put the bag on the floor, drawing out the whole blanket and laying it on his lap. “... It’s soft.”

Alfred watched Arthur’s fingers draw tiny circles on the blanket. “Yeah, and warm.”

Arthur looked up at him and gave a small smile. “... This... what is it for? My birthday was last month, and you already gave me that cookbook--”

“I just saw it and thought of you,” Alfred said quickly. He knew Arthur wouldn’t take kindly to pity. 

Arthur nodded. He turned his attention back to the blanket. After another moment of running his hands along the fur, his grin became wider. “It’s very nice.” He paused. “Thank you.”

Alfred smiled. “No problem.”

They sat there quietly. Arthur soon looked up again, then scooted closer. He lifted the blanket so that it covered Alfred’s legs, too. Alfred chuckled. The scent of pre-heat in the room made them both eager to get closer to each other. Arthur leaned on Alfred; Alfred rested his arm around Arthur’s shoulders.

“I don’t want to go into heat,” Arthur murmured, closing his eyes. “I hate missing school.”

“I know,” Alfred chuckled. “I’ll pick up all your homework for you.”

Arthur nodded his thanks. Another peaceful minute passed.

“I should go,” Alfred murmured, remembering the proximity of Arthur’s mother. Arthur nodded, sitting up and allowing Alfred to stand. Alfred rolled his shoulders. He was about to leave when he caught sight of Arthur, looking distressed.

“... What?”  

Arthur bit his lip. “Did you... did you scent this?”

Alfred stared. “... No.”

Arthur pinched and squeezed at the blanket nervously. “W-Well, my heat shouldn’t start until tomorrow. So, erm, you should go home and scent this and then bring it back.”

Alfred bit his lip. “You really want me to, Artie?”

Arthur nodded, blushing brightly. 

“... Okay,” Alfred agreed, smiling. He took the blanket from Arthur’s lap. “Yeah. For sure. I’ll bring it back tomorrow.”

Arthur met his eye, reluctant for only a second before breaking out into an excited grin. “Good. S-So, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you then.”

They held each other’s gaze, loving to simply smile at one another until the very last second possible. Even when Alfred was practically pushed out of the house by Mrs. Kirkland, he kept smiling. Maybe ending his _friendship_  with Arthur wasn’t as bad of an idea as it seemed.


	2. Chapter 2

 

Alfred bounced a little with excitement in the red booth seat. He raised his paper cup, smiling. “Happy birthday, baby!” 

Arthur grimaced, touching the rim of his cup to Alfred’s. “Christ, Alfred, you’re being too loud. We’re in public.”

“But it’s your birthday! And I love you!” Alfred took a quick sip from his straw, then put down the cup. He leaned over, giggling a little. “I’ll buy you another Big Mac ‘cause it’s your special day.”

Arthur groaned, resting his head in his hands. “I hate college.”

Alfred laughed, standing up. “Nah, you just hate being broke. You’re totally gonna miss it next year. Now c’mon, I’ll really buy you another.”

Arthur looked up at him, disgusted. “I don’t want another _Big Mac,_ you moron. I barely wanted the first one.” 

“Well, I want another!” Alfred huffed. “C’mon, wait in line with me. I’ll drive you home.”

“He says, as if we don’t live in the same apartment,” Arthur grumbled, rising to his feet. Alfred laughed obnoxiously as they made their way to the line.

They held hands as they waited their turn to order. Arthur sighed, leaning his head on Alfred’s shoulder. 

“You know, you could’ve bought me a real present,” he said lightly.

Alfred whipped his head to look at Arthur, mortified. “I-I thought you didn’t want one!”

“I didn’t,” Arthur sighed, bringing his other hand to Alfred’s arm and drawing little designs onto it. “I just… I don’t know. I wish we could have done something more exciting today.”

Alfred bit his lip, guilt beginning to sink in. Arthur didn’t often complain. “… I’m sorry, honey,” he murmured. He kissed Arthur’s temple. “I can ask my parents for some money–”

“No, no, that’s… that’d be silly.” Arthur paused for a moment. “I was just thinking.”

Alfred watched him, feeling a bit hopeless as the line moved forward. 

* * *

When they got home, the guilt of disappointing hadn’t worn off. There wasn’t anything exciting to do, but Alfred figured that perhaps they could be productive instead. Alfred decided to help Arthur out by cleaning the apartment. Of course, Arthur insisted on joining him, so that plan didn’t really work out.

The kitchen took the longest to clean, considering Arthur had left burn marks and charred remains of food on almost everything. Alfred made sure to leave everything spotless. 

They worked together to clean the living room and their bedroom. They dusted the furniture, mopped the hallways, cleaned out the bathroom. On his way back to meet Arthur in the living room, Alfred stopped in front of a closed door.

“… Hey, babe?”

“Yes?” Arthur called. 

“You wanna clean out your nest?”

“Ah, um… alright. Give me a moment.”

Alfred fidgeted. “… You want me to help?”

A pause. “Sure, if you’d like.”

Alfred placed his hand on the doorknob. He’d never been inside Arthur’s nest without Arthur inside of it; he felt almost as if he was invading Arthur’s space. 

He walked in, looking around. The room wasn’t horribly dirty, since there wasn’t very much in it apart from the nest itself. Alfred reached down to start pulling sheets out of the tangled mass one by one, figuring they could use a wash. 

Arthur soon appeared in the doorway.

“What– Alfred! I worked hard on that!”

“Artie, these are gross. I’ll help you put it back together, but let’s wash ‘em first, okay?” Alfred rose an eyebrow and smiled at Arthur, who huffed and reluctantly agreed. 

Together, they dismantled the nest. However, as soon as Alfred began to pull out a certain blue blanket, Arthur gave a cry of outrage.

“N-No, don’t touch that one!”

Alfred stopped. He had barely looked at it – by now, he was just picking whichever sheet seemed reasonably loose. As he looked down, he smiled to see it was the same blue blanket that he had given Arthur back in high school. 

“You still use this?” Alfred laughed. He pulled it out fully, despite Arthur’s protestations. He grimaced, seeing the multiple stains and patches of fallen-out fur. “Ugh, it’s disgusting.”

“I-It’s not!” Arthur insisted, walking over to him and grabbing the blanket from his hands. “It’s mine, and–… and you can’t wash it because I’ve already tried and it just makes more of the fur come off.”

Alfred furrowed his eyebrows. “Uh, what? So how many times have you cleaned it?”

Arthur remained eerily silent for someone who cleaned fairly often. As someone who almost never cleaned on his own volition, even Alfred was repulsed. 

“Dude, you can’t keep using that!”

“Shut up! You can’t tell me what to do!”

“Damn right I can, I’m your Alpha!” Alfred scoffed. “That’s gross, Artie. For real. I don’t even care about this stuff, but that’s gross. I’ll get you another one, okay? Hand it over.”

Alfred extended his hand, waiting for Arthur to do so.

Arthur stared, feeling obliged to obey but also gripping onto the blanket for dear life.

Alfred twitched his fingers in anticipation.

Arthur ran out of the room.

“Hey– Arthur!” Alfred shouted, quickly following him. “Stop it! Give me the blanket!”

Alfred chased Arthur until he was cornered against the corner walls of the living room. They were both a little breathless, but Alfred spoke, still managing to assume his threatening Alpha persona. 

“Arthur,” he warned, stepping closer. “Give me the blanket.”

“I don’t want to,” Arthur said simply, holding the blanket even closer. 

“ _Now,_  Arthur,” Alfred growled.

Arthur didn’t move. 

Alfred lunged, attempting to take the blanket from his boyfriend. Arthur shouted, kicking and scratching, refusing to let go. 

“Alfred! No, stop, it’s mine!”

“I’ll get you a new one–”

“But we haven’t mated yet!” Arthur shouted. At that, Alfred stopped. He pulled away, brows furrowed.

“So?”

Arthur paused, wide eyed, then seemed to realize what he had said. He blushed, huffing and stammering for a moment before managing to answer. 

“W-Well, the blanket was, erm, the beginning, so to say, s-so I thought it might be nice if we were to, erm, well, you know, ah… c-consummate, erm, with it, for purposes of, ah, literary balance and such…”

Alfred stared at him.

“… You wanna mate with me?”

Arthur only blushed more. “I– if it were to happen, I–…”

“Babe,” Alfred breathed, pulling Arthur into a hug. “I love you, so much. I… would probably die of happiness if I got to be your mate.”

Arthur allowed the hug, but didn’t hug back. He was much too embarrassed. “W-Well… you’d better not die, because I love you, too, and… and you have to be around for the long run if you’re going to be my mate.”

Alfred squeezed him tighter, smiling so widely that his face hurt.

“Of course, Artie.”

“And no more stupid nicknames, either. Or McDonalds on my birthday. And you can’t leave your clothes on the floor anymore.”

Alfred chuckled, pulling away. 

“Never again, sweetheart. The house’ll be super clean, every day. I’ll clean up after myself and you and our kids, too, when we have some. I’ll start tomorrow. And my first order of business will be to get rid of this,” Alfred teased, pulling on the blanket. Arthur still refused to let go, quickly furious again. 

“I just told you, you moron! I don’t want you to buy me another until–”

Alfred cut him off with a kiss, smirking.

“So I’ll buy you another tomorrow.”

They stared at each other.

“Have you talked to my parents about this?” Arthur asked quietly. 

Alfred laughed. “Yeah, like a billion years ago. I’m pretty sure our parents were the ones who set us up, sweetheart.”

It was only another moment before Arthur was dragging Alfred into their nest.

It seemed their day was going to be much more exciting than they’d thought. 


	3. Chapter 3

The two of them stumbled into their nest. Arthur dropped the blanket so that they could grab onto each other more fully. They fell onto the few remaining sheets of their nest, kissing and touching each other as much as they could. 

One second without their lips together was one second too long. They had been waiting for this moment for years.

“Arthur,” Alfred panted, biting into Arthur’s jawline and neck. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Al,” Arthur murmured breathlessly, threading his fingers through Alfred’s hair. “Oh, don’t stop.”

Alfred didn’t. He left multiple bruises, slipping his hands up Arthur’s shirt and toying with his chest. He loved to hear Arthur moan. 

“Fuck,” Alfred breathed. “This is good, right?”

“So good.”

Alfred continued to kiss Arthur’s neck. 

“Do you want me to mark you?”

“Not yet.” Arthur grasped at Alfred’s shoulders. “Wh-while you’re inside. Hurry, Al, I want you…”

Alfred nodded. He sat up, beginning to strip off his shirt and his jeans. “N-No condom, right?”

Arthur breathed a laugh. “Do you even know what mating is? Stupid…”

Alfred smirked a little. “Jus’ makin’ sure, babe.”

“Mm,” Arthur hummed. “Strip me, love.”

Alfred pressed a short kiss to Arthur’s lips before taking the ends of Arthur’s shirt. He pulled it up, trailing kisses up his stomach and chest, then gently pulled it over Arthur’s head. 

As for Arthur’s pants, Alfred dragged them down at a slow, teasing pace. He left bite marks in Arthur’s thighs, kisses on Arthur’s ankles. Arthur squirmed and laughed, tickled. 

Alfred moved Arthur’s legs apart so that they were spread widely. He sat between Arthur’s thighs and slipped his fingers underneath the waistband of Arthur’s underwear. They made eye contact.

“Don’t tease,” Arthur huffed, blushing. “Just do it, you moron.”

“You still want it, right?” Alfred smirked. As if the smell of slick and Arthur’s arousal wasn’t permeating through the whole apartment at this point.

“I’ll kick you in the face if you don’t hurry up–”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Alfred chuckled. “Verbal consent, babe. Need to hear you say yes.”

“Yes!” Arthur groaned.

“Yes, what?”

“Alfred–”

“Tell me, Arthur.” Alfred stared into his partner’s eyes with a confidence that only an Alpha could have over his Omega. 

Arthur paused, then looked down. “Yes, I want you,” Arthur mumbled.

“You want me to mate you?” Alfred hummed, stroking up and down Arthur’s thighs. Arthur shivered.

“Yes.”

“’Cause you love me?” Alfred smiled.

Arthur couldn’t resist giving a small smile in return. “More than anything.”

Alfred leaned over and gave him a slow, romantic kiss. “I love you more, honey.”

“You don’t.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“No, you just think you do.”

Alfred chuckled. “Whatever you say, babe. Now let me get to it.”

Quite abruptly, Alfred pulled down Arthur’s underwear. He adjusted himself so that he could pull them all the way off before leaning down and giving Arthur a firm, erotic lick. 

Arthur choked out a moan. He grabbed at the sheets, letting Alfred rim him for a good minute or so before he spoke again.

“Al, please – you must be hurting, I want you inside…”

Alfred laughed and pulled away from Arthur, revealing his red face and chest. “Y-Yeah, I want you pretty bad, too, sweetheart.”

Yet another confirmation of mutual verbal consent and four fingers later, Alfred was aligning himself. He pushed in slowly. Arthur grabbed and scratched at his back, pulling the Alpha closer in. 

Alfred began at a slow pace, making sure he found Arthur’s prostate as soon as he could and taking his time. But Arthur wouldn’t have that for very long.

“Alfred, go faster.”

“I don’t wanna hurt you–”

“You _won’t_ ,” Arthur ground out through gritted teeth. “Hurry. Don’t fuck this up, you arse–”

Arthur cut himself off with an unexpected moan of pleasure. Alfred’s pace and strength increased exponentially within seconds. It wasn’t long before Arthur was being fucked so hard that the floor seemed to be shaking along with their movements. They were both breathless, moaning for each other, kissing each other and grabbing at each other like they’d never see each other again. 

“Oh, fuck!” Alfred groaned. “Feels so fucking good. I’m gonna come, baby–”

“Knot me,” Arthur breathed. “Oh, Alfred– mark me, make me yours!”

And Alfred did. He sunk his teeth into the right side of Arthur’s neck. Arthur gave a loud cry of relief, his eyes fluttering back into his skull. Alfred’s thrusts slowed down, increasing in power until he finally came. His knot formed without too much trouble – it was a pleasure unlike Alfred had ever felt before. He found himself giving tiny little thrusts as come continued to spurt into Arthur. 

“Al,” Arthur whimpered. “I’m still–”

Alfred grabbed at Arthur’s cock, pumping until Arthur came with a high-pitched moan. They relaxed into the nest. 

Alfred lapped at the bite wound, cleaning some of the spilled blood. 

“How’re you doing, sweetheart?” Alfred mumbled. 

“Good,” Arthur murmured, closing his eyes.

Alfred fell to the left of Arthur, turning them both on their sides to face each other. With his knot still inside Arthur, it was hard for them to be comfortable. Arthur let his leg hang over Alfred’s waist, making things a little easier. Alfred pulled him as close as he could, tucking Arthur into the crook of his neck. 

“Are you cramping?” Alfred asked.

“No…” Arthur was clearly falling asleep. Alfred smoothed a hand over Arthur’s side, rubbing gently at his lower back. 

“Let me know if anything hurts.”

Arthur shook his head. “It’s perfect. Fits perfectly inside of me,” he smiled. 

“Yeah, you like it? Filling you up good?” Alfred smirked.

Arthur opened his eyes to meet Alfred’s gaze. “Mm. I love it.”

Alfred chuckled. Their lips met briefly.

“Glad to hear it.”

Arthur closed his eyes again and nuzzled back into Alfred’s neck. “I love you, darling.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.” Alfred pressed a kiss to Arthur’s temple.

When he heard Arthur’s soft, relaxed breaths of sleep, Alfred bit his lip. As the concept of finally being mates with Arthur sunk in, he felt a warm joy blooming in his chest. 

In what could only be described as an act of true love, Alfred pulled the matted and torn blue blanket over both of their tangled bodies before closing his eyes and going to sleep. 


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur was in his fourth month of pregnancy, and things had _not_ been easy.

The couple was glad to be mated, though. They reaffirmed the consent of their parents, filled out all the legal papers, and made everything official. It felt good to be bonded to Arthur for life.

Unfortunately for Alfred, the evolution of their romance made Arthur no less stubborn, no less fiery, and no less downright annoying at times.

But Alfred was in love with Arthur, difficult traits and all – their newfound mateship only reinforced his love for the Omega. It was just hard when those negative traits combined into an idea and an insistence that Alfred was no longer allowed to touch Arthur.

Pregnancy was hard on Arthur’s body. He was small, narrow, didn’t have “birthing hips” or whatever they were called. He was thin, so whatever was going on in his chest was causing him a lot of pain. The baby’s growth, four months in, was already leaving stretch marks and making for a lot of cramps. Arthur also continuously grumbled about how the child was “certainly” Alfred’s – he was getting cravings for foods that he usually couldn’t stand.

All of this together made for a sensitive, aggressive, nauseous, ferocious, and hurting Omega. He struggled with morning sickness every day, and whenever Alfred tried to help, he was swatted away. Arthur claimed that Alfred touching him only made his sensitivity worse and brought about more pain. In fact, it had gotten so bad that Arthur began to refuse Alfred’s touch completely for fear of setting off another round of sickness. 

Alfred thought he was kidding when he first said it, but had received a sharp slap to the cheek in return for a simple touch on the shoulder.

So he didn’t try again. Especially not as Arthur’s morning sickness and general pregnancy pains seemed to become more and more of an issue.

Needless to say, Arthur was spending a lot of time curled up in bed with the new blanket that Alfred had bought.

Every day when Alfred came home from work, he always made his way to their bedroom as soon as he could.

“Hi, babe,” Alfred said quietly as he walked in one afternoon, moving over to the edge of the bed. “How are you?”

Arthur turned away from his voice and gave a tiny grunt.

Alfred frowned. He sat down and attempted to keep the bed steady, though it dipped slightly under his weight regardless. “D’you feel sick today?”

Arthur huffed quietly. “No…”

Alfred smiled. He reached to touch Arthur’s shoulder, but stopped himself. “Hey, that’s great news! Are you just tired?”

Arthur shrugged.

Alfred looked at Arthur’s back, waiting for more of an answer. When he didn’t get one, he spoke again. “… Do you wanna sleep?”

Arthur shrugged again, turning over onto his back. Alfred couldn’t help breaking out into an even larger grin when he locked eyes with Arthur, his favorite person in the whole world.

He wished he could touch him.

“… Do you want me to stay?” Alfred murmured.

After a moment, Arthur nodded.

A pause, and then a miracle happened:

Arthur outstretched his arms.

Alfred’s eyebrows quickly rose. “… What?” He asked, not wanting to jump to conclusions and make Arthur angry. “You want a hug?”

Arthur averted his eyes, a blush dusting his cheeks. He nodded.

Alfred almost immediately leaned into his arms, hugging him as tightly as he could and breathing in that perfect scent.

“I miss you,” Arthur whispered.

“I miss you too, sweetheart, so much.” Alfred kissed Arthur’s neck.

Alfred eventually pulled away. Arthur was biting his lip, attempting to hide a small smile.

“… I-I felt the baby today,” Arthur admitted.

Alfred gasped. The air in his chest made him feel like he could explode into a pile of the happiest, best, funnest confetti ever. (And he didn’t care that funnest wasn’t a word.)

“You did?” He managed.

Arthur nodded. “I-I want you to feel it, too.”

Alfred could’ve died on the spot.

A few glorious minutes later, they were cuddled up together on the bed. Arthur was resting with his eyes closed. Alfred was tucked into the crook of Arthur’s neck so that he could reach Arthur’s stomach more easily. At each slow stroke, Arthur practically purred, putty in Alfred’s hands. Alfred could barely feel the baby: it was too small. But he didn’t care. He hadn’t been allowed to feel Arthur’s stomach yet, and if it was making Arthur happy, he was going to stay there forever.

Alfred kept rubbing softly for a long time. When Arthur finally squirmed out of his rest, Alfred looked up. They locked eyes.

Alfred couldn’t help but lean in for a quick, soft kiss. And another. And another, and another, and another–

He couldn’t believe Arthur was letting him touch him like this.

Arthur let him rub his hands all over his body. Arthur let him caress his waist, his hips, his cock. Arthur let him kiss and suck on his nipples, his stomach, his thighs, his ass. And, of course, Arthur let Alfred take him. It was the slowest, most romantic sex they’d ever had. Alfred took care to make sure Arthur was comfortable, and he was – oh, was he ever.

In the morning, when Arthur woke up sore, Arthur again began to insist that Alfred wasn’t allowed to touch him ever again.

At least this time it was a joke.

Alfred hoped, anyway.


End file.
